Contents

Reception

Never released as a single and generally unknown upon its
initial album release, "Rosalita" began to get FM radio
airplay when an advance version of "Born to Run" was given out to rock
radio stations. As Springsteen gained commercial success,
"Rosalita" became one of his most popular airplay tracks, and is
still heard on classic rock radio. The song, despite never
receiving an official single release, has been lauded hugely by
music critics in the years since its release in 1973. On its
release Ken Emerson of Rolling
Stone dubbed it "a raucous celebration of desire." [2] George
P Pelecanos of Uncut magazine has called it "One of
the great rock'n roll performances, and as close to a perfect song
as anyone's ever recorded," while Chris T-T in the same publication declared
"Never mind The
Beatles or The Rolling Stones, this is the best
rock'n roll track of all time." [3]
The song is one of
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and
Roll. Its music video occupies the
#71 spot on Rolling
Stone's 1993 list of the top 100 videos [4]

The aggregation of critics' lists at acclaimedmusic.net did not
place this song in its list of the top 3000 songs of all time, but
rated it as one of the 1980 songs "bubbling under" the top
3000.[5]
The song has also been listed as one of the 7500 most important
songs from 1944 through 2000 by Bruce Pollock.[5]

Music
video

In the early 1980s, many years after the song's initial release,
MTV began showing a music video for
the song. The video was a straight concert performance (from a Darkness Tour
performance on July 8, 1978 at the Arizona Veterans
Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona) that included band
introductions and numerous adoring females rushing the stage. While
only adequate technically, the video captured the energy and
playfulness of Springsteen and the E Street Band in concert, and
was the first such introduction many casual fans had.

Live
performances

For many years, dating back virtually to when the song was
written, "Rosalita" always closed the regular set in Springsteen
concerts, often elongated to incorporate extended band
introductions. It was the one "sure thing" in a Springsteen set
list and celebrated as such. Steven Van Zandt used this time to
shine on backing vocals, as his voice changed on performances of
the song from the Born To Run Tours
to the The River
Tour.

However, on October 19, 1984 in the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma,
Washington, during the Born in the U.S.A. Tour, this
suddenly changed; "Rosalita" was dropped from the show, not to
reappear. Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh said this was done to "disrupt
the ritual expectations of the fanatic fans [...] establishing
through a burst of creativity just who was boss [...] he'd
liberated the show from an albatross, a song that was too long and
had long since stopped breathing." [6]

"Rosalita" in the swamps of Jersey: House lights up for the final
song of the May 21, 2009 show at Izod Center.

For many years, "Rosalita" made only rare or sporadic
appearances, leading to fans campaigning for the song to be played
by holding banners or placards saying "Let Rosie Come Out Tonight!"
during shows. Springsteen occasionally granted the wish, though,
such as during the last show of the above-mentioned tour in 1985 at
the Los Angeles Memorial
Coliseum, or on most of the quick American leg of the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express (it was dropped
before the end, and did not appear on the European leg), or on the
last night of a 15-show stand at the Continental
Airlines Arena in New
Jersey on the Reunion
Tour in 1999. Finally, during the U.S. outdoor stadium portion
of The Rising
Tour in Summer 2003, "Rosalita" was inserted into the encores
and was played in all 33 of those shows. Immediately prior to that
came one of its most notable performances, during the Australian
leg in March 2003 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Many times
during the course of the evening the stadium lost power resulting
in sound system and the video screens turning off, often mid-song.
Bruce commented "I often say it, but tonight I meant when I say I
will never forget this night!" Bruce repaid the suffering
audience with an extra two encores, including "Rosalita." During
the 2007–2008 Magic Tour, the song
made sporadic appearances, sometimes in reaction to audience signs
requesting it. On the July 4 show in Gothenborg, Steven Van
Zandt brought back the famous "double-mike" ditty he and Bruce used
to do in the 1970s with the song's chorus. "Rosalita" continued to
make sporadic appearances as the final encore during the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour. Steve
Van Zandt was now officially back to background vocals on this
song, going to Bruce's mike with great confidence, giving the song
an even more upbeat vibe.